QSC AG

Earnings Release • May 13, 2013

News Details

Corporate | 13 May 2013 07:30

QSC increases profitability in first quarter of 2013

QSC AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results

13.05.2013 / 07:30

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QSC increases profitability in first quarter of 2013

– EBITDA margin improves by 2 percentage points to 17 percent

– Consolidated net income of EUR 5.1 million more than doubled

– Revenues of EUR 113.0 million below previous year’s level due to regulatory effects

– QSC reiterates guidance for full fiscal year after its good start to the year

Cologne, May 13, 2013. QSC got off to a good start in fiscal 2013, benefiting from significant growth of its ICT business as well as from temporarily higher demand for IP-based voice products. On the other hand, revenues in conventional TC business declined; heightened regulation since December 1, 2012, alone, is resulting in revenue shortfalls of between EUR 7 and EUR 8 million per quarter during the current fiscal year.

Overall, QSC generated revenues of EUR 113.0 million in the first quarter of 2013, compared to EUR 116.0 million for the same quarter one year earlier. While predominantly conventional TC revenues with resellers decreased by 29 percent to EUR 31.9 million as a result of regulatory and market effects, there was a rise in ICT revenues in the two other business units. Revenues in Direct Sales rose by 20 percent to EUR 50.6 million. Revenues in Indirect Sales increased by 6 percent to EUR 30.5 million due to, among other things, temporarily higher demand for voice products. QSC Chief Financial Officer, Jürgen Hermann, who will succeed Dr. Bernd Schlobohm as Chief Executive Officer on May 30, 2013, notes: ‘Our focus on the ICT market is paying off. We are achieving significant revenue growth here and winning further customers each quarter.’ During the past quarter, sporting goods retailer SportScheck and power grid operator Nowega, among others, opted for QSC.

Concentrating on ICT business affords higher earnings

QSC’s focus on ICT business played a major role in enabling the company to increase its profitability in the first quarter of 2013. EBITDA rose from EUR 17.5 million in the first quarter of 2012 to EUR 18.9 million, while the EBITDA margin increased by 2 percentage points to 17 percent. Consolidated net income reached EUR 5.1 million, by comparison with EUR 2.3 million for the same quarter the year before. Free cash flow of EUR 5.1 million, on the other hand, remained slightly below the previous year’s level of EUR 5.8 million, as QSC needed to increasingly invest in connecting new customers and new products. Given this backdrop, capital expenditures (capex) increased to EUR 9.8 million in the first quarter of 2013, compared to EUR 8.7 million for the comparable quarter the year before.

Significant growth planned in ICT business

Given its good start to the current year, QSC is reiterating its guidance for the full fiscal year. The company is planning an EBITDA margin of at least 17 percent and a free cash flow in the amount of at least EUR 24 million on revenues of at least EUR 450 million. Operating business will continue to develop on a two-track basis: Sharply rising ICT revenues will be offset by declining conventional TC revenues, especially in the Resellers Business Unit. Numerous decisions by the German Federal Network Agency that were made in the autumn of 2012 will additionally burden TC business: In fiscal 2013, this alone will result in a revenue shortfall of some EUR 30 million in TC business and will reduce EBITDA by EUR 3 to EUR 4 million by comparison with the year before.

Jürgen Hermann stresses: ‘The effects of heightened TC regulation show how important it is for QSC to evolve into a full-fledged ICT provider. The lower the revenue percentage of legacy TC business is, the more apparent our company’s progress in the ICT market will be.’ At CeBIT 2013, the company debuted its first modular solution for the Cloud workplace, QSC-tengo, which will simplify migration to the Cloud age, especially for small and mid-size enterprises. With a view to this innovation, in April 2013 market researcher Experton named QSC the ‘2013 Cloud Leader’ in not just one but two categories. Hermann: ‘In the coming quarters, too, we’ll be investing in new products, new customers and new people, thus putting in place the foundation for profitable growth in the coming years.’

In EUR million	Q1 2013	Q1 2012
Revenues	113.0	116.0
EBITDA	18.9	17.5
EBIT	6.3	4.0
Consolidated net income	5.1	2.3
Free cash flow	5.1	5.8
Capital expenditures (capex)	9.8	8.7
Workforce	1,565	1,366

Notes:

The 3-month report is available for download at www.qsc.de/en/qsc-ag/investor-relations.html . This corporate news contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and forecasts of future events by the management of QSC AG. Due to risks or mistaken assumptions, actual results may deviate substantially from those made in such forward-looking statements.

Queries to:

QSC AG

Arne Thull

Head of Investor Relations

Phone: +49 221 6698-724

Fax: +49 221 6698-009

E-mail: invest@qsc.de

Internet: www.qsc.de

End of Corporate News

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Language:	English
Company:	QSC AG
	Mathias-Brüggen-Straße 55
	50829 Köln
	Germany
Phone:	+49-221-6698-724
Fax:	+49-221-6698-009
E-mail:	invest@qsc.de
Internet:	www.qsc.de
ISIN:	DE0005137004
WKN:	513700
Indices:	TecDAX
Listed:	Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart

End of News	DGAP News-Service

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